Birthday Fever
by Amberdiamondswords
Summary: It's October 26th, and Clank's got birthday fever...no, really, he has a fever. As his fourteenth birthday arrives, Clank is struck with a bad fever, and Ratchet will do whatever it takes to make his best pal feel better.


**Weekly Oneshot #8: Birthday Fever**

"Okay, fevers and illnesses tend to show up at bad times, but this is just unfair!" Ratchet said a little angrily as he ran a cloth under ice cold water. Clank sat there on the counter next to the sink, the poor robot looked absolutely terrible. He had a hand on his stomach and his eyes were partway closed. Even though he was a robot, people could still tell that he didn't feel well. His miserable face was hard to look at, it was never easy to look at Clank's face when he was suffering.

Ratchet had been planning on playfully scaring Clank awake that morning by sneaking up on him from under the bed and over to the robot's side and jumping him. However, when Ratchet did try to scare Clank, the robot didn't wake up. He thought that he was fake sleeping, so the Lombax flicked Clank where his nose would be if he had one, he usually hated that. But when his friend still didn't wake up, Ratchet began to panic. He had began shaking Clank, begging the robot to wake up. After he failed, he quickly left the apartment and headed towards Al's to get Clank looked over. Al was able to get the little robot up and running again, but when he opened his big green eyes, a miserable expression came onto his face. And his eyes weren't bright at all, they were all dim. It was hard for Ratchet to look at. When he asked Al what the problem was, Al took a look at the robot. Then he told Ratchet that Clank had the robot equivalent of a fever. It came from a virus that lies dormant in every robot, and it only activates and takes effect at rare times. Most robots only get this fever a few times in their lives, and it was unfortunate that Clank had to experience his first at such a young age. Al told Ratchet to just let Clank rest for a few days, and not to be panicked if the robot coughs up a little bit of oil or pukes. Both those things happened when a robot was sick. Also the heating up of his metal was normal too, so Ratchet had to keep him cool. When the Lombax decided to be curious about Clank's metal heating up, he took off a glove and placed it on his friend's head, but he quickly drew it back when Clank's metal skin slightly burned his own. Al wasn't lying, he really was heating up.

So, after the trip to Al's, Ratchet took Clank home and started preparing for a day full of sick robot caring. First by putting some cold water on the robot because he was slowly becoming a fire hazard with that overheating.

"I feel like a rusted sprocket. Is this what organics feel like when they are sick?" Clank asked, his dim eyes looking at his friend.

"Basically, yeah," Ratchet replied, turning the sink off, his hands feeling a bit numb from the cold water. He squeezed the cloth a few times to get the excess water out, then he looked at Clank. "Alright, pal, I'm warning you right now, this is gonna be cold. And I mean cold. But it's the only way that we can cool you off. Let's go to the couch so you don't have to move or anything while the cloth is on you."

The Lombax scooped up his sick friend, trying his best to keep the robot's skin on his glove instead of his own skin. But he could feel the heat travelling through his glove's fabric, so he had to be quick. When he made it to the couch, he set Clank down and then placed the wet cloth on his head. The little robot shuddered violently as a huge chill went up his little spine. It really was cold.

"You were not lying, it is extraordinarily cold. But it does feel rather nice, and my metal's temperature is already lowering. Thank you, Ratchet."

"No problem, buddy. I know that it sucks being sick...especially being sick for the first time. It's hard to believe that all robots just have a virus sitting inside them, watching over your metal organs-"

"Ratchet?" Clank said worryingly as he held his stomach.

"And at any moment it can come forth and just totally bring down your system and make you feel like crap just like that-"

"R-R-Ratchet?"

"It sucks what being sick can do to you. It can make you cough up gross black blood, and it can also make you-"

"Ra-BLAH!"

Ratchet jumped as Clank vomited. The poor robot looked miserable as blackish brown oil came spewing out of his mouth and onto the floor. When the most of it came out, Clank took a moment to cough as a bit more leaked out. When he was finally done, he looked at Ratchet with scared eyes. He was trembling a little bit, the poor robot looked absolutely horrified. Of course, that was the first time Clank had ever puked, so Ratchet wasn't surprised that the robot was so scared. He placed a hand on his shaking friend's back and spoke in a soothing voice.

"Hey, hey it's alright, pal. That's normal, that's what some people do when they're sick. Vomiting sucks, and no one likes it, trust me, I know, but we can't control it. Just sit here and calm down while I clean this mess up, alright?"

"Al-al-alright-t," Clank said as he trembled. He wrapped his arms around himself, that was absolutely terrible. Vomiting was not fun at all.

Ratchet went into the kitchen and got out the mop. After a few push and pulls through the mess on the floor, he cleaned up the oily mess on the floor. Clank watched him the whole time, feeling horrible about it. The little robot had never really made a mess before, so watching Ratchet clean up something messy that he made made the little robot feel sad. He brought his knees up to his chest and placed his chin on top of them and simply watched Ratchet clean up after him.

After all the puke was cleaned, Ratchet filled a bucket full of water and submerged the oil covered part of the mop in it. Then he reached up into the cabinets and grabbed a bowl and returned to Clank, placing the bowl next to his friend.

"This is for if you need to puke again. When you feel nauseated, just put your face right over the bowl and wait for the feeling to go away...or puke, either or." Clank simply nodded his head, he looked a bit sad as he did. Ratchet shared the sad expression. He put a gloved hand on his friend's shoulder and shook him a little. "Hey, pal, I know that this sucks really bad, and puking for the first time isn't the greatest experience, and it was no doubt scary for you. But I'm right here, I've got your back. I'm here for you, Clank. I'll always be. That's how it's been since we've known each other. And it's totally unfair that you became sick on this day. Of all days, it had to be this one."

"Ratchet, why are you upset about me being sick today? And I do not understand what you mean by it being unfair," Clank said, looking confused.

"What am I upset ab...Clank, don't you know what day it is?"

"No. Is there some sort of occasion?"

"Some sort of-oh my goodness, Clank! You really don't know what today is?" The robot shook his head, Ratchet smiled both amusingly and sympathetically. "It's October 26th, pal! It's your birthday!"

"I-It is?" The little robot said, quite surprised. He kept forgetting that he had a birthday.

"Yeah. You're fourteen years old..oh god, that makes me feel old. And I can't believe that you forgot your own birthday."

"Should I apologize?"

"Haha, no. You don't have to apologize. You're sickness probably clouded your mind for awhile, making you forget. But yeah, you're fourteen years old today. But uh, that's not the only occasion."

"Hm?"

"Well, because you were born on the same day, October 26th also commemorates the day that we first met. We've known each other for fourteen years now...how bout that?" Ratchet said, placing his head on the back of the couch. He smiled happily and shook his head a little. "Seems like yesterday that your spaceship sailed over my garage and crash landed nearby, and I found you lying unconscious on the ground."

"I have enjoyed the past fourteen years greatly," Clank said, mimicking Ratchet by putting his head on the back of the couch as well.

"I have too...and I'm looking forward the upcoming years," Ratchet replied. Clank was about to say something, but, unfortunately, more puke came up his system and out his mouth. But he had the bowl to puke in this time, so it made him feel better knowing that Ratchet wouldn't have to clean it up. But his feel good mood turned into a dreadful one as more puke came out. Ratchet quickly scooted over to him and patted him on the back, holding the bowl still for him. He could feel Clank shaking again, so he spoke to him in the same soothing voice. "That's it, pal, get it all out. Don't be afraid, I'm right here for you. You'll feel better once it's all over. That's it..."

When Clank's vomiting finally stopped, he stopped to cough, then he continued shaking violently. He really hated throwing up, it was really scary. He looked up at Ratchet with his big, innocent green eyes and was about to say thank you, but he was interrupted by more coughs. Ratchet frowned, he hated watching his best friend suffer. He wanted to make Clank feel a little better, and he knew just how to do it. The Lombax told Clank that he would be back in a second and he ventured to the bedroom. Ratchet opened the closet and he went into the very back of it, where some extra blankets were stored. He dug through them until he found a tiny wooden box. It still looked fantastic, even after being hidden for a week. He was surprised that Clank had never found it, usually that robot would know that the Lombax was hiding something the second he asked. It was usually Ratchet's face that gave the answer away.

Ratchet went back out into the living room and saw that Clank had calmed down a tiny bit. He sat down next to his friend and showed him the box.

"What is that?" Clank asked weakly.

"Something that I think you're gonna love," Ratchet replied with an excited look on his face.

Ratchet opened the box, and a tiny tune came from it. It was a more classical tune, and classical was Clank's favorite music genre. He would spend hours listening to it when he was reading. The next that happened made the little robot's eyes brighten with joy. An animation of Clank's ship crashing was shown in a hologram, and Ratchet was in it too, watching the falling ship. The video cut to Ratchet picking Clank up, then pulling him up the cliff. Then it showed the part when the two accidentally hit heads as Clank awoken (which made Clank giggle a little), then it showed Ratchet holding Clank, observing his crash wounds. Suddenly, the animated Ratchet talked.

"My name's Ratchet. I'll just call ya...Clank."

Then the video cut to some sort of slideshow of pictures of the two over the years. Them defeating Drek, Nefarious, shooting Secret Agent Clank, vacationing on Pokitaru, beating up some bad guys, all of their happy memories came out of that little box. The last thing that showed was an animated version of the Great Clock. Then it showed Ratchet about to take off, the cockpit of Aphelion closing. But then Clank hopped into the passenger seat, they both looked and smiled at each other. Then Clank sat back in his seat and Ratchet gripped the steering wheel with happiness and determination. And finally, it showed Aphelion taking off into the cosmos, where their further adventures would take place.

Ratchet closed the box, and looked at Clank with a happy face. Clank, on the other hand, looked absolutely amazed. The music, the pictures, the animation, everything that the box had showed him was beautiful. He looked up at Ratchet with bright eyes.

"Ratchet, that was beautiful. Wh-Where did you get a box like that?"

"I made it."

"You made it?"

"Uh-huh. I've been working on it for weeks, making sure that everything looked awesome. What do you think?"

"What do I think? Ratchet, your music box's presentation was phenomenal, I loved it."

" _My_ music box? Clank, you don't understand. This isn't my music box," Ratchet flipped the box over and showed Clank the back of it. It had the name 'Clank' carved marvelously into the back, the 'C' was even made to look like a gear. "It's yours."

"M-Mine?" Clank asked, pointing to himself.

"Yeah. Happy birthday, pal," Ratchet said, placing the music box in Clank's little metal hands.

Clank opened the box a tiny bit, making the music play. After a few moments, the little robot closed it and he looked up at Ratchet. Then, he got up on his knees, which was difficult because the fever rendered him pretty weak. But when he managed to maintain a nice balance, he scooted over to Ratchet and hugged his torso. Ratchet smiled and hugged the little robot back. His metal really did cool down a lot. Clank's metal actually felt really, really cold. The Lombax noticed that his friend was even shivering a little. So, he removed the cold cloth from the robot's head and tossed it onto the table, then he proceeded to hug him.

"Thank you, Ratchet. For everything you have given or done for me for the past fourteen years," Clank said.

"Heh, you're welcome, buddy...I would do anything for my little brother," Ratchet said, saying that last part quietly.

"...Ratchet?"

"Yeah?"

"I need the bowl, quickly," Clank said, sounding panicked.

"AH! Right! Here you go!" Ratchet said, quickly putting Clank in front of the bowl. The poor robot puked again, Ratchet patting him on the back like he did before. It was getting harder to watch each time. But this time wasn't as bad as the other two, in fact Clank stopped after a few seconds. He must be nearly emptied out. When he finished, he wiped his mouth. The robot looked exhausted, maybe some rest wouldn't hurt. So, Ratchet placed a hand on Clank's shoulder. "Hey, birthday bot, maybe you should take a nap. Sleep is a great way to get over illnesses."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Come on, I'll put you to b..." Ratchet looked at Clank's face. He looked into his friend's big green eyes. He saw sadness and fear in the robot's expression, and the feeling of not wanting to be alone. After giving it some thought, the Lombax placed his hand on Clank's head and nuzzled his antenna playfully, making the robot giggle. "You know what? I could use a nap too."

"So will I sleep in the room and you sleep out here, or the other way around. Is that what you are proposing?" Clank asked tiredly as he rubbed his eyes. He was feeling very tired, Ratchet mentioning a nap must have made him realize that.

"No, what I'm proposing is that you come here, you little weirdo." Ratchet grabbed Clank by the waist and pulled him into a side hug. Clank shivered a tiny bit as the coldness from the cloth lingered in his system. The Lombax noticed this, and he quickly reached over into the chair next to the couch and grabbed the blanket that was lying in it. He draped the blanket around his shoulders, covering Clank, who was practically asleep, in the process. The little robot was holding his new music box in his sleep. Ratchet smiled and nuzzled his buddy's antenna again. Fourteen years...it was unbelievable. But, no matter how long he knew the robot for, he would always see Clank as both his best friend and his brother. He wondered if Clank felt the same about him.

Clank squirmed a little in his sleep, and he coughed a few times. Soon, he fell into a coughing fit, and Ratchet quickly started patting his friend on the back. He whispered to Clank, "Come on, pal, get it out of your system. It sucks now but you'll feel so much better after you recover, don't worry. I'm here for ya, pal. I'll always be here for ya, don't you worry."

After finishing his coughing, Clank squirmed a little bit more, a small chill going up his spine. He curled up into a tiny ball, still clinging on to the music box. He really loved that thing, and he knew that he always would. The little robot turned to his side, so his head was resting on Ratchet's torso. Before he drifted into sleep, he said quietly.

"Thank you, Ratchet."

"You're welcome, pal. Happy birthday."

The next part Clank said quietly, but Ratchet's ears picked it up. "You are the best brother that a robot could ask for."

* * *

 **If some of you don't know, according to a Ratchet and Clank theme calendar released a few years ago, October 26th is Clank's birthday! Clank turned fourteen today! Give the birthday bot lots of hugs!**

 **Oh, and I swapped the dates of Follow the Universe and the Weekly Oneshot. So FtU will be updated on Wednesday.**

 **Make sure to leave a review and tell Clank "happy birthday" while you pick up your complimentary party toaster! (Shows a toaster with a party hat on)**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


End file.
